TROUTDALE, Ore. (KOIN) — Around 8:15 p.m. Monday, Kyle Peterson was in a single-car crash at SE 35th and Stark. He hit a guardrail and waited for police to arrive.

When officers arrived, Peterson did not appear to be injured and was cooperating. But, without notice, he walked off into the woods and hasn’t been seen since.

“The officer was walking back to his car and he assumed Kyle was following him and he wasn’t,” his mother, Lynn Bauer, told KOIN 6 News. “He turned around and looked and Kyle had just walked into the woods.”

Troutdale police responded to the accident, but said they did not have time for an interview with KOIN 6 News on Wednesday. They did say that once an officer loses sight of a subject, it becomes a safety issue. It could become dangerous for the officer.

Rescue crews and K-9s have canvassed the area, including the nearby woods and the Sandy River. Family and friends of the 29-year-old have joined the searches.

“I’m going through hell right now,” Bauer said. “I just want to think he’s still out there somewhere and I’m going to find him and he’s somewhere safe and warm.”

The family is waiting approval from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office to search the Sandy River.

“At this point, my son is still missing,” she said. “And we just want him to come home.”